There are several pros and cons of the Nutrisystem diet. According to Charlotte Skiles, a nutritionist from Austin, Texas, the upsides of the diet are that everything is done for you, so you can focus on eating the food provided and not need to worry about preparing special meals. The guidelines provided with the program are very clear and simple to follow. Because of the structured nature of the program, it is effective for people who struggle to follow traditional diets that are not so convenient.

Misconceptions About Nutrisystem

Some people think that there is no teaching involved in the Nutrisystem program and therefore it doesn’t facilitate the creation of permanent change in a person’s life. They argue that if a person on the diet doesn’t make necessary lifestyle changes, they’ll put the weight back on once they go off the system, as they will generally return to their old lifestyle habits.

A few others believe that the Nutrisystem food is not of high quality, and is not as healthy as a freshly prepared food. They think that it is shipped frozen and stored and therefore lacks the vitality of fresh food. They go on to say that the diet isn’t sustainable over the long term, because a healthy eating program should involve learning how to cook and prepare food which meets health and nutritional needs.

The Truth About Nutrisystem

While this is the opinion of a few people, there are others who disagree because they have experienced the Nutrisystem program as a healthy way to lose excess weight. Those that argue that the food is frozen do not know that a lot of it is not. It’s actually sealed in a pack with no added preservatives and no freezing (in much the same way that baby food is packaged). They don’t know that freshly frozen food can contain higher levels of nutrients than the “fresh” foods available in grocery stores. Much of the food people assume is fresh in stores has been transported long distance in refrigerated vehicles (even overseas) or has been held in storage for days, weeks or even months before being sold to the consumer.

Here is what a Nutrisystem user says on Youtube:

“I am on the Nutrisystem diet and the food is not frozen! It has no preservatives…It is the way they seal the pack…Nutrisystem uses the same process that is used when sealing baby food containers (the same kind of packaging is used in many gerber products) So in other words, if that kind of storing is bad for you to eat, then I don’t think that we should be serving our children the nifty baby foods that you can buy at you local grocery”

Those who have tried Nutrisystem know that the program offers supporting DVDs and coaching, helping you to learn about healthy eating and cooking so that the weight loss achieved on the program is actually sustainable. What Nutrisystem does is, it teaches you portion control. Even after you are done with the program, you continue to eat the right portions.

Here is what another user says:

“My Dad did nutrisystem, and he lost 40 pounds. That’s all he needed to lose in order to get back in healthy shape.. .but I don’t believe one of the cons should be that you don’t take away knowledge after you stop using the system.He now knows what portions he should be consuming, and a better excersize routine. If you have an open mind, it can be a very good teaching tool, along with losing weight.”

How Nutrisystem Works

Nutrisystem is not a generic program that treats every user the same way. It takes into account different people’s needs by using their age, height, weight and gender to determine their nutrient and calorie requirements. It utilizes a low fat diet plan that doesn’t deprive the body of essential fatty acids or necessary carbohydrates, as some plans do.

The carbohydrates used in the system are chosen based on their glycemic index, ensuring they are healthy carbohydrates that promote weight loss rather than hindering it by creating sugar spikes. This approach enables the dieter to achieve a reasonably quick reduction in weight without side effects such as loss of energy and irritability.

The Nutrisystem plan ensures that users get the right amount of calorie reduction to permit weight loss, so the dieters do not need to do it themselves, which is a huge advantage. Calorie counting is challenging and tedious and often leads to people quitting or cutting corners in their eating plans and thus not getting good results.

Most people nowadays live very busy lifestyles, with work and family commitments, and having to count calories or create special meals for themselves as well as good food for the rest of the family is too much of a challenge. For this reason, Nutrisystem is extremely beneficial as it reduces the time of meal preparation and takes away the confusion and difficulty of calorie counting.

Overall, the Nutrisystem diet simplifies the process of losing weight, while providing support and assistance in making long term lifestyle changes. The convenience factor alone is crucial for many people in creating an effective weight loss plan and making it one that is easy to follow for the amount of time necessary to reach a healthy weight.